Left for dead

By Paul Dunlop
A MAN was brutally bashed and left broken and barely alive in a Pakenham park at the weekend.
The 45yearold had been drinking at a local hotel before he was assaulted in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Police believe two people, possibly more, were involved in the vicious attack.
Senior Sergeant Alan McCarthy said it was “one of the more serious” assaults in Pakenham for several years.
The victim was a former Pakenham resident who had been living in Hampton Park but regularly returned to the area.
He had been playing pool at the Railway Hotel during the evening but left the Main Street pub without incident.
The man was in Dr Cox Gardens, just behind the town library, when he was set upon by his attackers and repeatedly kicked and punched.
Police are still investigating whether any other weapon was used.
The man suffered broken ribs, a punctured lung, broken nose and had his oesophagus split under the tirade of blows.
The assault took place between midnight and 3am.
The injured man was later found lying in a semiconscious state near the former police station in James Street. He was spotted by a passing patrol car.
Paramedics called to the scene initially described the man’s injuries as lifethreatening. He was taken to Dandenong Hospital in a critical condition.
The man remains in the hospital’s intensive care unit. A hospital spokesperson yesterday described his condition as satisfactory.
The assault has sent shockwaves through the community over the weekend.
Railway Hotel barman Stan Young said the victim was a fairly regular patron of the hotel but never caused any trouble.
“You see him in here quite a bit but you would hardly know he was here,” Mr Young said.
Mr Young said there was no trouble at the hotel during the evening and nothing to indicate the pending violence.
Police have been combing the area to piece together the circumstances of the assault.
Police have appealed for anybody who may have been in the area at the time of the attack to immediately contact the Pakenham Criminal Investigation Unit.
“It was a serious assault and we’re still trying to establish a motive,” Sen Sgt McCarthy said.
“We want to talk to any residents who saw or heard anything.”